Captain back for Newport

Captain Alan Bennett is back in the frame for a return to the AFC Wimbledon squad tomorrow after shaking off a thigh strain that has caused him to miss the last two games.

During an interview for Dons Player ahead of the Good Friday clash against Newport County AFC, Neal Ardley confirmed that Bennett (pictured) has been back in full training this week.

Sammy Moore is also available again after serving a two-match suspension, but Kevin Sainte-Luce (knee) is not yet ready to return and Tom Richards will be assessed tomorrow after illness caused him to miss training during the week.

Despite a much-needed victory last weekend at Southend, Neal Ardley says the Dons are far from safe – and he’s made a point of making it clear to his players that there’s still a job to do.

“The last thing we want is to go to Accrington Stanley on the last day needing something,” said Neal. “We are definitely not safe and we need to get that out of our minds. My message to the lads this morning is that we should be aiming for 60 points-plus. I’ve emphasised to the players that we will be training hard to win every game and they will have their summer break in three weeks’ time.

“For now, we will put every last ounce of effort we’ve got into the remaining four games. If we’ve got the periodisation of our training right throughout the season then we will be a stronger team than most. There’s a big feeling amongst us all that we’ve not quite achieved what we would have wanted this season and that’s obviously disappointing. However, we’ve got a chance to win four games and we want to finish the season strongly. We would then at least be able to say that we had a strong finish, which provided a good platform for next season.”

Of course, Dons promotion heroes Lee Minshull, Christian Jolley, Ismail Yakubu and Ryan Jackson, along with Max Porter, have all made notable contributions this season for a Newport County AFC squad that has impressed Neal Ardley.

“They are a very strong team that play very effective football,” added Neal. “They like to get at you and to create the statistics in their favour. Justin Edinburgh has done a great job there. They had a sticky spell in the middle of the season, but have recovered from that. Newport have recruited well in the latter part of the season with players of the calibre of Kevin Feely and Darcy Blake coming in. They will be looking to finish the season well, but so too will we. There’s very little between the teams in League 2 and there will not be much between the two teams tomorrow.”

Dons Player subscribers can watch Neal’s full update on our premium site and an interview with Jack Midson will follow later.

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